


Babysitting and Other Rationales

by aces_low



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Babysitting, Fluff, George Luz is very serious about Disney movies, M/M, New Relationship, Pre-Relationship, Some Cuddling, Some kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 15:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8407825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aces_low/pseuds/aces_low
Summary: George Luz is a god damn saint, or at least some kind of kid whisperer. And Joe's just trying to keep his head on straight.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a head canon post on tumblr by damnyoualex.
> 
> The OC's names came from nothing other than them being the first names to pop into my head.
> 
> Very quickly written, not at all edited. Judge me for all the mistakes regardless.
> 
>  
> 
> This is just about the fluffiest thing I've ever written, so hopefully it does that tag justice. And I hope you enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> Not meant to be a representation of the real men at all, this is just a story based off of the characters in the HBO series.

Joe is a little bit in over his head. 

It’s only been an hour and a half since his sister dropped off his niece and nephew - apologizing profusely for the last minute notice and her unknown return time - and he’s already run out of ideas on how to entertain them. 

He’s never been great with kids, though he gets along with his sister’s children just fine, as long as their mom or dad is also around to jump in once he’s exhausted his knowledge on children’s needs. Which apparently, is exactly one hour and twenty-seven minutes’ worth of information.

It’s a little too early for dinner, and honestly, he has almost no food at his place anyway, so he’s probably going to have to order a pizza or something. He panics for a moment, can four-year-olds eat pizza?

He has no movies or games that are suitable for a four and seven-year-old, and they’re already tired of the few toys they brought with them.

They’re currently watching some TV show that Alice, his seven-year-old niece, told him they like, but he can tell they’re already starting to get antsy again, and he’s so out of his depth.

He’s about to start googling ideas when he hears a knock at the door. He crosses his fingers that it’s his sister.

Instead, he opens the door to see George smiling brightly at him. 

His stomach drops, he had tried to call George to cancel their date for the night, but he hadn’t answered so Joe had left a quick voicemail. Maybe he hadn’t seen the missed call. Joe had hated having to cancel, it was only going to be their second real date but Joe is already pretty smitten with George Luz.

“Hi,” George greets him, not looking at all like someone who has just been stood up.

“Uh, hey, did you get my message?” Joe asks, looking back into the living room to check that the kids are still on the couch.

“Oh yeah, I got it. You just sounded a little bit panicked, so I thought I’d come over and lend a hand.”

Joe raises his eyebrows. That’s not at all what he had expected. They’ve just started dating, they’ve only known each other a few months, and they haven’t even talked about being exclusive yet, and now Luz wants to help him take care of his sister’s kids. He’s not really sure how to feel about that. Part of him wants any help he can get, while another part is weary of having his niece and nephew around someone who is a complete stranger to them. He’d love to get to spend time with George, but not around kids who will probably say some embarrassing shit like how awkward he gets around the guy. He knows that Alice will point out any kind of weakness from him as soon as she sees it.

“That’s really nice of you, but it’s really not necessary, it’s going to be pretty boring here.” Joe mostly wants to plead with Luz to take him with him when he goes.

“Well then you really need me here! Look, I brought all sorts of stuff.” George pulls the backpack - that Joe hadn’t noticed he was carrying - off his shoulder and unzips it. Joe can see the bag is stuffed full of books and crafts and games for kids. 

He’s too stunned to even begin to ask Luz why he has a giant bag full of stuff for children.

George can probably tell by the look on his face though because he just laughs and shrugs. “I’ve got nine brothers and sisters, all younger than me. I’ve spent my whole life taking care of kids.” 

Now Joe is trying to wrap his mind around a family of ten children, and trying to picture George Luz as the responsible older brother.

Luz must read his silence poorly because he starts shifting back and forth, his bright smile gone. 

“This is weird, isn’t it?” He asks, biting his lip. “I know we haven’t been hanging out very long, I just thought…when I heard your message I was just thinking…I’ll just go. I’m sorry, just…let me know if you want to reschedule.” His face is bright red and if Joe wasn’t already pretty far gone on this guy he’s pretty sure this awkward display may have sealed the deal. He honestly never believed George Luz was capable of embarrassment.

Before Luz can walk away Joe grabs his forearm. “I’m actually kind of dying in there, so I’d appreciate any sort of help you can give me,” he admits.

George perks back up right away and follows Joe back the apartment. 

“Who are you?” Alice asks, bluntly, when she sees George walk in.

“I’m George, I’m your Uncle Joe’s friend,” Luz responds before Joe can say anything.

“Oh.” She looks over to Joe for confirmation.

Joe nods. “George brought you guys some stuff to play with,” he explains, and both kids perk up immediately.

Alice jumps from the couch over to Luz, her smile showing off the two teeth she lost last week. Jack follows, his smaller legs making him slower than his older sister.

Luz’s grin looks impish as he opens his bag again. “Now,” he starts, turning the bag over so that a frankly alarming number of things fall out, “what do we want to do first?”

 

 

Joe is exhausted. He can’t understand how his sister deals with having two kids all the time, he feels like he’ll never stand up again and it’s only been six hours.

Joe turns his head to look at George who is sitting next to him looking almost as worn out as Joe feels. Though when he sees Joe looking at him his smile is just as big and cheerful as always. George Luz is a god damn saint, and anyone who says otherwise is going to get a fist to the mouth. 

He kept the kids thoroughly entertained until dinner, and helped Joe keep the kids behaved as they ate. He even brought the Blu-ray of what turned out to be Alice’s favorite Disney movie for them to watch until Jack nearly fell asleep against Joe’s chest. Then, George read them one of the books he brought, making voices for all the different characters which amused and delighted both of the kids enough that they had another burst of energy. But George was able to calm them down after just a few minutes.

Now they’re both sleeping soundly on Joe’s bed. And yeah, Joe is definitely going to look into applying George for sainthood.

“I don’t know how you did all of that, but I can’t thank you enough.”

George just shrugs. “Like I said, nine brothers and sisters. And just imagine, they’re all a bunch of mini-me’s.” Joe’s eyes widen at the thought. 

George chuckles. “So those two are like little angels in comparison. Seriously, I’m not used to kids just eating their food, there’s always at least one food fight per meal at the Luz household.”

Joe laughs and moves closer so they’re sides are touching. He runs his hand up Luz’s neck, resting it against his jaw so that he can angle his face toward him more. 

“Still, thank you,” he says, softly, before brushing his lips to Luz’s. 

Luz responds immediately, turning his body more so he can get closer, deepening the kiss as he wraps his arms around Joe’s shoulders.

He rests his hands on Luz’s hips as Luz moves to straddle his thighs. Luz’s mouth is heated and unrelenting against Joe’s and Joe can tell from the way Luz is kissing him where he had planned for the night to go before Joe had bailed on him. 

Joe is about to need to take a breath when he feels George pull away slightly, trying to stifle a large yawn. 

“Shit,” he groans, letting his forehead fall to Joe’s shoulder. 

Joe chuckles and squeezes Luz’s waist once, leaving a small kiss against Luz’s jaw. 

“It’s almost ten, do you want to get going before it gets too late?” he asks, but doesn’t let go of his hold.

“Not really,” Luz responds, moving so that he’s looking at Joe again, his position making it so Joe has to look up to see the glint in his eyes.

Joe smirks back but he’s not willing to let this go any farther with Luz while they’re on his couch and his niece and nephew are just a room away. 

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Joe asks, when he feels himself beginning to get drawn back into Luz’s heated gaze. 

Luz blinks, becoming more aware of his current position. He sheepishly moves so he’s no longer in Joe’s lap, but instead pressed against his side.

“Sure,” he says once he’s settled. “We can start from the beginning. I don’t think you were able to take in the whole story the first time.”

Joe raises an eyebrow at that. “You know, I do have other movies, we don’t have to watch that one.”

George looks up at him. “It’s a great movie, Joe,” he says, his voice betraying none of his normal sarcasm, his face completely serious.

Joe studies his face for a moment, to make sure he’s not just messing with him, but Luz appears sincere so Joe starts the movie back up again.

When he settles back into the couch he feels Luz’s hand lacing with his own. He looks over and grins at the pleased look on Luz’s face.

 

 

The sound of his phone ringing pulls him up out of his dream. The room is dark except for the glow of the movie menu on the TV and Joe feels disoriented for a moment. His legs are tangled with George’s, who is pressed tightly against his chest. His deep, even breathing coming out against Joe’s throat. Joe has to struggle to free his arm from under George in order to get to his phone that is still ringing by his head.

George makes an unhappy sort of grunt at the loss of contact and his body unconsciously pushes somehow even closer into Joe’s, his head nuzzling against Joe’s shoulder.

Joe wants to just sit and relish in this adorable moment, but his phone is still ringing incessantly on the arm of the couch. 

“Hello,” he whispers into the phone, his voice feeling slow and rough from sleep.

“Hey, I’m finally leaving work, I’m on my way over now,” his sister says, sounding about as tired as Joe feels.

“What time is it?” 

“A little after one.”

Joe feels George shift against him again, and from the way his breathing is becoming less even he can tell that he is waking up.

“You don’t have to come here now, they’re sleeping. You go home and you can come pick them up tomorrow.”

“No, I want to come get them, I’m not too far away. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

Joe looks back down at Luz when he hangs up, to see Luz’s drooping eyes looking up at him.

“S’that?” Luz mumbles out, pressing his face into Joe’s chest.

Joe smiles at the feeling of a warm, sleepy George, who is apparently very into cuddling.

“My sister, she’s coming to get the kids in a few minutes,” he tells him, running his fingers through the hair on the back of Luz’s head.

After a minute, George hums in response, hugging Joe tighter for a moment before letting go. 

“I should probably get going,” he says, fumbling his way into a sitting position.

“You don’t have to leave,” Joe says, watching Luz stretch for a moment, he tries to keep his voice impassive, so as not to give away the fact that he’s really not interested in going back to sleep without Luz next to him.

He probably doesn’t succeed if Luz’s grin is anything to go by. But Luz just stands up, grabs his movie from the Blu-ray player and slip his shoes on. Joe had packed up most of the things Luz had brought with him earlier when he had been reading to the kids. 

Once his bag is zipped up and on his back he turns back over to Joe. “You know, as second dates go, I’d say this went pretty well,” he says with a grin.

Joe groans and pulls Luz into him, his mind too tired to feel embarrassed that he’s sort of just breathing Luz in. 

“I’m sorry, I promise I’ll make it up to you, the date and everything you did for me today.”

Luz pulls back a little so Joe can see his eyes, despite having just woken up they look as bright as ever. He looks like he’s about to say something but instead he just leans in to kiss him. Luz kisses him deep and slow, and there isn’t the hint of it leading to anything more, but Joe’s breath hitches a little at what he feels Luz is trying to convey in the kiss. And it’s still way too early in this relationship for any of this, but it’s nice to know that Luz seems to be in a similar headspace as him.

They break apart after a minute, and Joe walks Luz to the front door. They share one more quick kiss and a promise to talk later today, before Luz turns and makes his way outside.

Joe takes a moment to catch his breath before heading back in to gather up all the pictures Alice and Jack made earlier with the supplies Luz had brought. 

A few minutes later his sister knocks on the front door and together they wake the two sleeping children. They’re tired but thrilled to see their mom and Jack falls right back asleep in her arms as she carries him out to her car. Joe follows along with Alice, who wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head against his shoulder.

“Uncle Joe, can we come play with you and George tomorrow?” she asks, her voice small and tired and he can tell she’ll be back asleep as soon as they drive off.

“Probably not tomorrow, kiddo. But you guys can come over again soon.” He doesn’t want to promise anything with George, doesn’t want them to get attached to someone who won’t necessarily be around. But just the thought of George not sticking around long makes his chest hurt, and he knows for sure that he’s really in trouble.

Alice just nods in understanding and he gets her into the car and buckled up, her head lolling to the side almost completely back asleep.

“Thank you so much for today. Were they any trouble?” His sister asks once they’re all packed away.

“Nah, they were little angels,” he says, grinning to himself at his small inside joke.

She looks at him skeptically for a moment before pulling him in for a hug. “Well, thank you again, you don’t know how much you helped me. I really owe you one.”

She kisses his cheek and he waves her off, watching them drive away. 

Walking back inside he contemplates going back to sleep on the couch, as just the small amount of sleep he’d had there had been nice, but he knows that had more to do with his sleeping companion than what he had been sleeping on.

It takes no time at all for him to fall asleep as he sinks into his bed.

 

Later, in the afternoon, he gets a phone call.

“So, who is George?” his sister asks in lieu of a greeting.

Joe chokes a little, caught unaware. “What?” he rasps out.

“Well, Jack has been telling me all day that he wants to go see his Uncle George. At first I thought he’d just forgotten your name, but then Alice told me that he is your boyfriend.”

Joe silently curses his perceptive niece; they hadn’t done anything to make it seem like they were together when they were in front of the kids.

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just…he’s…we’re just dating right now. But he came over to help me, because he’s really good with kids,” he finishes lamely, trying to justify why he let a strange guy around her children.

“So this guy came over to a guy who he’s ‘just dating’s’ place to help with his niece and nephew?” his sister asks, sounding skeptical, though it doesn’t seem like she’s too worried about George being a stranger.

“I don’t know, it’s new. Technically we’ve only been on one real date, last night we were supposed to go on our second, but I had to cancel.” 

“Right, sorry about that.”

Joe sighs and assures her it’s fine, because honestly, last night had been pretty great for Joe, and there’s no date they could have gone on that would have solidified his feelings for George quite like watching him play with his niece and nephew, having fun with them, making them laugh. Watching him read to them and tuck them into bed had also just made the warmth in his chest grow. 

“Well, if it’s any help, he has two ringing endorsements from the kid demographic,” his sister says after a moment of silence between them. He knows she can tell where his head is.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s far surpassed me as their favorite,” he jokes.

“Nah, you’ll always be their favorite uncle. He’s just new, so he’s more interesting right now.” 

Joe doesn’t think that’s actually the case, he thinks George genuinely won them over last night, but he’s not too worried about not being the favorite, he agrees with the kids.

“Not that is matters, but from what little I know about him I’d say I’m approving of him too,” she says, a little more seriously now.

“Well, I’m glad to know where everyone stands with him, but like I said, it’s a little too soon. I don’t want to scare him off, you know?” 

Joe doesn’t normally like getting this vulnerable with people, admitting his fears out loud just makes them more real, but the few times he has been able to share, it’s been to his sister. She is almost seven years older than Joe, so growing up they didn’t spend a lot of time together, but as they’ve gotten older they’ve also gotten closer.

“Joe, no one spends the whole night entertaining some guy’s niece and nephew just because he wants to keep it casual.”

Joe thinks about the kiss last night, when Luz had seemed to pour every bit of feeling into it, he couldn’t have just imagined it all, right?

“I know,” he admits. “I’m just trying not to get my hopes up.”

She sighs, “I know, buddy, but just make sure you don’t miss out on a good thing because you’re being dumb.”

He rolls his eyes. “Well now you know I can’t promise that.”

She laughs, and thanks him again for his help. “Make sure you send along my appreciation to George, too,” she adds, before hanging up.

He’s just about to send along her message to George when his phone lights up with a text from him.

Luz:  
_So, how soon did you want to make up that date with me?_

Before he can respond a second text comes through.

Luz:  
_I’m free tonight._

Joe smiles and selects Luz’s number to call.

“Hey,” Luz answers quickly, his voice telling Joe everything he needs to know.

“Hey,” Joe greets him, softly. “Tonight sounds perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading. Any feedback is always appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I'm aces-low on tumblr if you're interested in blogs where someone posts the same 12 Joe Toye posts over and over again.


End file.
